Ryan McBride/Staff photographer
Hilltop Fireworks owner Kenneth Vincent helps Jim Bingham, right, and his daughter Sidney of Eliot, Maine, who were purchasing fireworks for the Fourth of July celebration this week.

DOVER — State tourism officials are expecting an estimated 13.6 million out of state visitors throughout the summer with the Fourth of July holiday this week officially kicking off the season.

According to a report by the Institute for New Hampshire Studies, that number is about 1 percent higher than last year and these millions of visitors are anticipated to spend about $1.9 billion in the state. That figure has increased 2 percent from just a year ago.

Summer accounts for 40 percent of visitation and spending in the Granite state.

“It’s looking to be a good summer and good Fourth of July,” Tai Freligh, communications manager for the state Division of Travel and Tourism Development, said.

He said officials are expecting a good weekend following the holiday, which falls on a Thursday this year.

Director of the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism, Lori Harnois, said about 860,000 visitors are expected to come for the five-day holiday and spend $128 million while visiting during that time.

“The Fourth of July is our most popular holiday and helps kick off the busiest part of the summer season in New Hampshire,” she said.

Most of the visitors during June, July and August will be from New England, the Middle Atlantic States and eastern Canada.

Locally, excitement over the holiday was evident at Hilltop Fireworks on Route 108 in Somersworth, where owners John Gregoire and Kenneth Vincent were busy helping shoppers stock up on various pyrotechnics.

“This week is like Christmas for fireworks stores,” he said.

Gregoire said customers were stopping into the store for a “little bit of everything.”

Shopping carts were filled with items from the store while other shoppers grabbed armfuls of what promised to deliver awesome aesthetics for celebrations.

He said a lot of people were picking up pre-made packages with an assortment of fireworks.

For $75, the Hilltop Fun Pack offered a variety of fireworks all listed in the order Gregoire said they should be fired for an optimal display.

Packages like those are used often for neighborhood parties or local gatherings, where allowed, and can be a lot more pleasing than some of the professional shows, he said.

“Especially for those not doing a lot of traveling,” he explained, a do-it-yourself fireworks show can be a lot of fun.

“It’s really pretty neat,” he said.

Hilltop Fireworks also keeps a list from the state fire marshals office of what restrictions towns throughout the state have when it comes to fireworks.

And no one leaves the store, he said, without safety tips and guidelines for how each firework should be used.

“We want you to have a great Fourth of July, but we want you to do it safely,” he said.